Roberto Di Matteo certainly deserves to be handed the Stamford Bridge reigns on a permanent basis and whist the hunt for a long term replacement for Andre Villas-Boas has gone on for quite some time perhaps Roman Abramovich was always ready to give the job to the Italian following his efforts last term.

The 42 year old former Blues midfielder secured both the FA Cup and Champions League during his two and a half month spell as temporary boss, notching up an impressive 13 wins from 21 matches in all competitions and just three defeats.

The former West Brom manager had been linked with a return to the Hawthorns to replace Roy Hodgson as Baggies boss but clearly was hoping to secure the Chelsea job following his successes and according to this source it appears that owner Abramovich has made that a reality.